Carathers said mold has become a public awareness issue although it's been around forever.

Clint Junell, owner of Junell's Breathe Easy, an environmental testing and consulting firm, agrees. People have been aware of mold for thousands of years. Mold problems didn't happen overnight, he said.

"We're building our houses tighter. They have two bathrooms. In Amarillo, it's not the humidity (that's causing mold)."

To test for mold, a qualified professional should be called in to analyze the amount of mold and to offer a plan for cleanup, Dennis Paetzold, owner of Rainbow International Carpet Care and Restoration, said .

Paetzold said increased scrutiny by the media has led to more awareness by homeowners.

"It's kind of had a domino effect," he said.

Tips to control mold

Clean bathrooms often with bleach and keep surfaces dry.

Repair water leaks promptly and properly.

Ensure that the home has adequate ventilation, including exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Do not carpet bathrooms, basements, kitchens or other areas prone to collect moisture.

Source: Texas Department of Health

"The public has become more educated. A lot of homeowners are paying to have their homes tested out of their pockets. The insurance companies aren't involved with it too much anymore. Some homeowners are testing just to see what they've got."

"The primary effect of mold," Carathers said, "is it can cause allergy problems. It can cause infections if a person has a compromised immune system. It can grow anyplace where there is a moisture source. Not all mold is harmful."

Children are especially susceptible to mold contamination, Junell said, because their immune systems are not fully developed.

Junell said he and his workers have been exposed many times to mold, and they have gotten sick as a result.

"You can't always go in somebody's house with a respirator on and protective gear," he said.

"It'll freak 'em out, so it causes problems for us."

The extent of health problems can depend upon the amount of mold in the house, Carathers said.

Homeowners Bill and Annette Morgan experienced mold in a big way a couple of years ago, Annette Morgan said.

"It made my asthma go crazy," she said.

"Once it was exposed, I was on the verge of pneumonia within three days. I was on all kinds of inhalers."

The Morgans have a den in their basement where the central heating unit is located. Her nephew noticed mold growing behind the unit when he and Bill Morgan were in the process of replacing it. He knew the hazards and advised them to contact their insurance agency.

"Our commode upstairs had overflowed," she said. "It flooded the basement, bedrooms and kitchen. Once I got out of the house, and they got it cleaned up I was fine. They counted nine kinds of mold in the basement."

It's OK to treat a small area yourself, Carathers said, depending on the size of the area to be treated. Paetzold said the best way to rid yourself of the mold is to physically remove it.

His workers erect a barrier around the affected area and create negative air pressure with a machine to prevent spreading the mold spores.

They wear protective equipment to keep from ingesting spores. It's important to remove the water source, he said.

"If you treat it with a water-based solution," Carathers said, "you're adding to the problem. It's still wet. Depending on the lifespan of the mold, you can disperse the mold spores and increase the affected area. The best solution is to remove the affected material. To grow, mold requires an organic food source. It's more of a problem if moisture gets under the tile or if the grout in the tile has deteriorated and the Sheetrock gets wet, then the Sheetrock needs to be replaced. Sheetrock is an organic food source."

Although there are many admitted allergy problems associated with mold, there is no scientific evidence or documentation that mold causes specific diseases, Carathers said.

"This is something that is just now being researched," he said. "There are an estimated 100,000 validly described species of mold, and there are at least 100,000 more that have not been described."